A GULLANE dad has been taking advantage of having the Firth of Forth on his doorstep to train for an epic swim across the English Channel to raise funds for a charity created in memory of his daughter.

John and Laura Young, of Hill Road, recently established The Teapot Trust in memory of their daughter Verity, who died from cancer in November 2009 aged just eight years old.

Verity had also suffered from lupus - an incurable disease in which the immune system attacks parts of the body - and her family hopes to raise £100,000 to provide art therapy to children with life-limiting diseases in Edinburgh's Sick Kids' and Glasgow's Yorkhill Children's Hospitals.

The Youngs have received waves of support from family and friends who have organised fundraisers since the launch of the trust - named after Verity's love of tea and art - last month.

Now John, 46, is preparing to boost the charity's coffers further by undertaking the incredible challenge of swimming the English Channel on August 7. He will be joined by three Edinburgh-based friends, John Hobbs, Jennifer Cohen and Diana Dawson.

John, who is no stranger to stamina challenges having previously competed in triathlons and Iron Man competitions, described how training for the 3am departure had been "very strange".

"We've been swimming off Portobello in the dark to prepare and it's a very surreal experience," he explained.

"We've also been swimming at Gullane and out to the Bass Rock. East Lothian is an absolutely fantastic place to train for challenges like this." A number of conditions have to be in place for the immense swim - which can measure between 22 and 28 miles - to be a success and John is keeping his fingers crossed that all will be well on the day.

He estimates the quartet - who will swim the waterway in a relay format in rotas of an hour - could take about 16 hours to complete the challenge.

He said: "Everything has to be right, from the weather to the timing to make sure we catch the tide.

"We're still working out some of the mechanics but I'm looking forward to it. It will definitely be an exciting experience." John, a writer, added: "Thinking of Verity will keep me going.

"I used to take her swimming a lot and she loved it. A couple of months before she died we bought her a dry suit so she could swim again but then she became too sick. I know she would have enjoyed laughing at me taking this on." He added that the couple's other two children, Nina, 11, and Isla, four, hoped to witness their dad's charity challenge.

And as if one mammoth swim wasn't enough, John is taking part in swim trials in Brighton this week in a bid to join a team planning to swim 56 miles across the Irish Sea in September. The event, called The SWIM, is being led by Richard Branson and Ronan Keating.

"There are a lot of experienced open-water competitors taking part so I am just going to do my best," said John.

"But it would be amazing to be able to do both swims this year." About £15,000 has already been raised by hard-working supporters of The Teapot Trust and the cash will fund a six-week pilot programme of art therapy in the rheumatology department of the Sick Kids' Hospital from September.

Laura explained: "It's a real credit to friends and our supporters who have got behind what we're doing.

"This pilot will give us the opportunity to see what works and what doesn't when offering support to children with life-limiting illnesses. The six-week block will include one-to-one sessions with an art therapist and group sessions, where children will be able to chat to each other about a variety of different things while also benefiting from art therapy." Added John: "The launch of the charity (www.teapot-trust.org.) was a very emotional evening for us and so many friends have been rallying to hold tea parties and sales to raise funds.

"It's also been amazing how many people who didn't know Verity, but who sympathised with what we are trying to do, have got behind us." To sponsor John, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/IrishJohn